• 2% base-building compensation merit pool effective January 1, 2025, for university staff who meet the eligibility criteria.
• 2% base-building compensation merit pool effective January 13, 2025, for faculty who meet the eligibility criteria.
• Minimum wage will increase along with City of Denver minimum wage to $18.81/hour effective January 1, 2025.  

• Units will be given a merit pool of 2% of their total active benefits-eligible staff and faculty to allocate to their eligible employees based on the unit’s criteria. Positions that are vacant, newly hired, or have received a base pay increase after September 1, 2024, are excluded from the merit pool calculation.

Check with your Human Resources Business Partner to find out which campus your department reports to. Dual campus employees that report to the Denver campus will be included in the January merit cycle. Those that report to the Anschutz campus will follow the July merit cycle. 

• Employees eligible for the 2% base-building merit pool increase include regular faculty and university staff in Denver schools, colleges, CU Denver specific administration, and academic and student affairs who also meet the conditions below.
  • Must have been employed and received a “meeting expectations” or higher performance rating (score of 3, 4, or 5) during the July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024, performance management cycle.
  • Must have been actively employed at CU Denver as of Sept. 1, 2024.
  • Must not have transferred or received a base pay increase after September 1, 2024.
  • Must have an active (paid) appointment as of January 1, 2025.
    • Employees with an active unpaid appointment will be reviewed for eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
• The following employees with an active appointment as of September 1, 2024, are eligible:
  • Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty
  • Sr. Instructors and Instructors
  • Teaching Track Faculty
  • Research Associate series (PRA, Senior PRA, Research Associate, Senior Research Associate)
  • Post Docs
  • Scholars-in-Residence
  • Research Faculty (not including temporary)
  • University Staff (not including temporary)
• Employees with the following titles are not eligible for the merit pool increase:
  • Classified Staff - As approved by the state of Colorado legislature, Classified Staff employees received a 3% across-the-board increase effective July 1, 2024, and are not on the January cycle for the 2% base building.
  • Part-time faculty (Adjunct, Lecturer, etc.)
  • Student workers
  • Student faculty
  • Working Retirees
  • Visiting Faculty
  • Temporary employees (classified, university staff and research)
  • Summer research, teaching, administrative, or additional appointments are not included. Only primary appointments will be considered.

• Campus will cover increases for General Funds – employees funded on other sources will need to self-fund.

• HR & finance representatives for each school, college, or administrative unit will input the merit increases for their area through the designated process. Human Resources and Budget & Fiscal Planning will then export the adjustments for review and upload into HCM effective January 1st for university staff and January 13th for faculty.
• All increases of 4% or greater require a justification. Approval of 4% or greater increases pending review from Human Resources.
• Allocation of merit is determined by the school/college/unit’s criteria.
• Merit pool funds should not be used for equity increases. For inquiries regarding equity adjustments, please contact your HR Business Partner and the Denver HR team.
• Schools/Colleges should budget an employee’s full salary, including faculty who are on Sabbatical. Merit should be allocated based on the 2023-24 evaluation cycle on the salary prior to sabbatical.

• HCM records will be updated with a January 1, 2025, effective date and will show on your January 31st, 2025, paycheck.

• Base building increases will follow the same taxes and benefits related to your regular monthly paycheck.
• Taxes and benefits will automatically be deducted from the payment and a breakdown can be viewed in “Paychecks” in MyCUInfo.
• It is recommended that employees review their W4 each year to confirm accuracy of tax withholdings.

• Yes, eligible employees will receive notification from their school, college or department detailing their base building adjustment and salary information in January 2025.